


Who's Left Behind

by SimplyUnknown



Category: Dragon Quest Series, Dragon Quest XI
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, If you cry I'm doing my job, Luminary is El, Rab is Rab, SPOILER HEAVY!!!, Spoilers for Act 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-25 07:23:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16192832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyUnknown/pseuds/SimplyUnknown
Summary: A long-awaited conversation between El and Rab





	Who's Left Behind

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILER WARNING: This fic discusses in-game events that take place around the middle of Act 2. If you haven't reached that point yet and you aren't ok with spoilers, please stop reading this fic. Otherwise, read on.

Physical exhaustion often wasn't enough to send the body to rest; not when the mind was always wandering. Rab had more experience with that then most, so he wasn't surprised when the sound of mattress springs uncoiling reached his ears. He lay still until the door to their room slid shut once more, and then he slid out of bed himself. A quick glance confirmed his suspicions of who was up so late after such a trying day. And a trip downstairs and a whisper in the ear of the man at the desk told him where he could find his quarry. 

So Rab stepped outside the Warrior's Rest and turned towards the small pier that stretched out onto a placid creek. Sure enough, El was sitting there. The boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders stared out into the night, chin on his knees and clinging to his legs as a small child clings to a soft toy to keep the nightmares at bay. Sighing, the old man strolled across the grass and plopped himself down next to his grandson. "Well, it's a nice enough night, I suppose," he commented with a lazy swing of his legs. "But you'll need your strength for tomorrow's travels. What's eating you, lad?" 

El glanced over at his grandfather, and then looked away. Rab merely smiled, waiting patiently. The silence stretched on for a time until El finally broke it. "My...when...I saw the Colloquy." Rab's eyes widened in shock. "When I looked at my...my father, I saw it." El stared out at the water, but his mind was clearly somewhere else. "And...my father said that...that I was a force for good. That I was sent to drive it out." 

"Aye, lad. I remember," Rab whispered, his mind drifting back to that horrible night. The night he thought he'd lost everything. "Called you a gift, Irwin did." 

"...Am I?" To Rab's dismay, tears began to well up in El's eyes. "Am I really?" 

"Oh, El. You're not thinking you're Darkspawn, are ye? That's rubbish, plain and straight. Auld Mordegon spread that around on purpose." Rab patted the boy gently on the shoulder. "You're not a monster, lad." 

"No, I'm worse." El's hand dug into his knees. "I'm a failure." 

"El..." 

"How can I not be? Look at that!" El angrily pointed up to the glowing red orb that had taken the place of mighty Yggdrasil. "I was supposed to stop this, to keep it from ever happening. And Mordegon, I was supposed to stop him. And I _failed_." A hand clumsily wiped away the tears streaking down the boy's face. "He wouldn't have touched the sword, wouldn't have killed Yggdrasil, if it wasn't for me. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for me. You..." Rab reached out a hand, and was slapped away. " _ **You should have killed me**_." 

Pure anger brought an old steel into the former king's voice. "Well, if that's how you're going to look at it, then maybe we should go on up to our room and kill Sylvando in his sleep. Oh aye," he sneered as El stared at him in shock. "After all, if he hadn't given ye a ship, then you wouldn't have reached Yggdrasil at all. So it's his fault too. Or how about finding Serena and Veronica and slitting their throats as well? They're the ones who told you to go to Yggdrasil in the first place." Rab cocked his head and stroked his mustache in a mockery of thought. "Or maybe it's all my fault. I mean, without me, Eleanor wouldn't have been born and then neither would you. So that's on me." 

"I...that's not..." El weakly protested. But a steely glare from Rab cut off his weak stutters. 

"Or we could lay the blame where it's deserved." Rab gently cupped El's face in his hands, stared into tear-filled blue eyes so like his daughter's. "We lay it on Mordegon. On him and him alone. He did a cruel thing to you, up at the tree. He stole what was yours and tainted it." El's gaze dropped and Rab lowered his own head to catch his eyes once more. "But it's not your burden to carry El. It never was." 

Once again, tears poured down the Luminary's cheeks. "They...they were so _proud_ of me, Rab. They were so sure I'd stop the darkness. And down in the tunnel, they..." A sob slipped out and El wiped his face on his sleeve. "How could they still be proud of me? How could they still love me?" 

"So that's the heart of it," Rab whispered, dropping his hands as his grandson wept. He sighed. "Listen to me, lad. I knew Eleanor from the second that she was born, and loved Irwin like a son as well. No one knew them better than auld me. And let me tell you, they would be so proud of who you've become." El glanced up with disbelieving eyes. "I'm serious. Even now, when the world's drowning in darkness, when there's little to no hope, you're still fighting. You're bringing hope to the people, and you'll bring back the light too." Rab placed a wrinkled hand on El's still smooth one. "They're proud of you, El. I'm proud of you. And I'll be with you, for every step of the way, until Mordegon's breathed his last. And that's a promise." 

For the first time that night, a weak smile crept onto El's face. "You're just saying that cause I'm your grandson," he whispered. 

"Well, you got all those perfect traits from me, you know," Rab grinned, earning a laugh. "Now, it's late enough. Back to bed for you." El nodded and rose to his feet. He tilted his head in confusion as Rab stayed where he was. 

"Aren't you coming up?" 

"I'm just gonna sit here a bit, lad. I'll be up in a bit." Rab waved him off. El sighed. 

"Alright. Night...granddad." Rab's eyes widened as El turned and hurried off towards the inn. A chuckle, roughened by the emotion in his gut, escaped his throat. 

"Aye, me. That boy," he laughed as he gazed up at the sky. Even through the reddish tint, he could see the stars. "He's got the best of both of you, Irwin. Your heart and Eleanor's mind. Heh, with a special spark all his own." A sigh escaped the old man's throat. "He's got a heavy burden to carry. But I'll make sure he doesn't carry it alone. I'll look after your lad, so you look after my girl. And save me a seat for when I finally come back to you." Rab gazed up at the sky for a few seconds, and then his eyes widened. 

Two butterflies, one tinted the color of blue steel and the other with a gentle green shimmer to its wings, fluttered out of the darkness. On instinct, Rab held out his hands and they each settled onto a palm. There was a gentle glowing, and Rab felt the tears welling up. But it was only for a moment before the butterflies took wing once more, twirling round each other before vanishing into the night. Rab watched them go before nodding. "Aye, that's right." His heart lighter than it had been in years, he turned back toward the inn, where his grandson and their companions waited.

In the night, two figures watched in a gradually lightening sky.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I just finished the Dundrasil Events in Act 2, and god was this some amazing writing. Getting to see our hero's parents and what happened that night was...Wow. And then I realized how our hero might feel after returning; knowing that his parents died believing in him, and he failed. And I felt that Rab was probably the best person to talk to him about it, considering he actually knew them. Plus grandfather/grandson bonding!
> 
> On another note...I think this is the first fic that doesn't have Erik in it, even as a mention! ...Not sure how to feel about that. Anyways, please let me know what I can do to improve, and I hope you enjoyed!


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